<?php
/*
    Frequently asked questions
    Copyright (C) 2015, 2016  Leah Rowe <info@minifree.org>

    This document is released under Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal
    Public Domain License.

    See <https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode>
*/
	header('Content-type: text/html; charset=utf-8');
	ob_start();
	include_once "../common/variables.php";
	include_once "../common/functions.php";
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../common/css/main.css" />

    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">

	<title>Libreboot opposes the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project</title>
</head>

<body>

	<div id="pagetop">
        <h1>Libreboot left the GNU project on 15 September 2016</h1>

        <ul class="c">
            <li><a href="#what-happened">The Free Software Foundation fired a transgender employee, for discriminatory, transphobic reasons.</li>
            <li><a href="#fsf-lied">The FSF lied, in response to libreboot's allegation</a></li>
            <li><a href="#consequences">Consequences</a></li>
            <li><a href="#community-reaction">Community reaction</a></li>
            <li><strong><a href="#leah-not-a-hero">Leah Rowe is not a hero, and she did a terrible thing</a></strong></li>
            <li><a href="#leah-is-not-an-fsf-employee">Leah Rowe does not work for the FSF, and never has</a></li>
        </ul>
        <p>
            <strong><em><a href="../gnu-insult/">UPDATE: GNU and FSF decide that libreboot is still a GNU
            project, against the wishes of the Libreboot project.</a></em></strong>
        </p>
        <h1 id="what-happened">What happened</h1>
            <p>
                A transgender employee at the FSF was being bullied by a transphobic
                employee. <em>When the transgender employee filed a complaint, <strong>they
                were fired because the complaint was seen as troublemaking.</strong> 
                A transgender person standing up for their rights in the workplace
                was seen as hostile.</em>  A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender">transgender person</a>
                is someone whose internal gender identity (in their brain) is different
                to the one they were assigned at birth. This mismatch can cause
                many transgender people to become extremely depressed, even suicidal. Many who are like this seek
                to <em>transition</em> to their real gender, and in many places
                (including USA) are subject to harsh treatment. Many end up being homeless,
                even if they are highly skilled, because they are fired from their job
                as a result of discrimination, or they are <em>not hired</em> for the same
                reason. They also regularly face abandonment by family and friends, in addition
                to being turned down from housing opportunities by transphobic landlords who turn
                them away. Transgender people are among some of the most vulnerable people on earth,
                particularly trans women. Transgender people are more likely to commit suicide
                than almost any other group of people, precisely because of how hostile the world is
                to trans people.
            </p>
            <p>
                It didn't seem to even matter to them that the individual in question
                had worked hard for the FSF and been an extremely knowledgeable and reliable
                person for the organisation - and a huge supporter - for many years.
            </p>
            <p>
                <em>Leah Rowe, libreboot's main developer and founder, is a transgender woman herself, and
                several transgender people have contributed to the libreboot project</em>.
                What the FSF has done is truly disgusting, so Libreboot voluntarily
                left the GNU project in protest. GNU is funded in large part by
                the Free Software Foundation. We will not name the person who
                was fired, for their privacy and safety.
            </p>
            <p>
                The libreboot project will not stand by idly, while such an injustice
                is permitted to occur at the FSF. That's why libreboot has left
                the GNU project. We must not tolerate anything like this at the
                FSF, an organisation which has historically been extremely open
                to minorities and embracing of diversity generally.
            </p>
            <h1 id="fsf-lied">
                The FSF lied, in response to libreboot's allegations
            </h1>
            <p>
                The FSF issued <a href="https://www.fsf.org/news/free-software-foundation-statement">this public statement</a>.
                They don't mention the issues being raised at all, while outright
                denying the allegations. This is to be
                expected, afterall. They then <em>wish their former employee the best of luck</em>.
            </p>
            <p>
                The individual in question had donated countless hours to keep the
                FSF running, with years of expertise and absolute passion for
                the work. To the FSF, this didn't matter at all.
            </p>
            <h1 id="consequences">
                Consequences
            </h1>
            <p>
                The FSF ought to have a lawsuit on its hands. What they have done
                is actually illegal in Boston, MA, where they operate. Unfortunately, the
                individual who was discriminated against has decided to remain
                hidden, which is why they are not mentioned by name.
            </p>
            <p>
                <strong>The following people should either resign and/or be
                fired from the FSF, to be replaced by other people:</strong>
            </p>
            <ul class="c">
                <li><strong>John Sullivan</strong> - executive director - the one who fired the employee</li>
                <li><strong>Stephen Mahood</strong> - outreach and communication coordinator
                 - the bully</li>
                <li><strong>Ruben Rodriguez</strong> - system administrator - leaked private emails to John Sullivan, which lead to the employee being fired.</li>
            </ul>
            <p>
                Another individual who recently left the FSF (who will also not
                be named) said it's unsettling that this was permitted to go on.
                In most organisations, there are ways to mediate disputes. 
                At the FSF, there is no middle management, no HR and the board
                of directors more or less only communicates with the executive
                director. Individual staff members are never consulted about
                anything. There is little or no oversight of employee morale
                by the board of directors; instead, employees are left on their
                own to manage everything.
                The fight between Stephen and the trans person who was fired
                had been going on for a long time, before John Sullivan
                finally looked into it, months too late.
                This sort of mismanagement is unacceptable at an organisation
                like the FSF. In most organisations, there are ways to handle
                situations like this and prevent them from happening.
                Stephen is toxic to the FSF and extremely negative.
                <strong>Why doesn't the FSF keep a closer eye on its
                own internal affairs, especially relations between staff members?
                Why does the FSF not have a department for managing disputes?</strong>
            </p>
            <p>
                The FSF needs better policies for its staff, to prevent situations
                like this in the future, and that needs to be something that is
                discussed by the board of directors. It is completely unacceptable
                that situations like this are permitted to occur.
            </p>
            <p>
               <strong> Until all three of these people are expelled from the organisation and
                - more importantly - the organisation improves so that this is no
                longer a problem in the future, then we recommend the following actions
                by the public:</strong>

            </p>
            <ul class="c">
                <li><strong>Boycott FSF conferences. Do not show up to their conferences.</strong></li>
                <li>Boycott the FSF. Stop promoting them, stop donating to them.</li>
                <li>Spread the word about this injustice</li>
                <li>Other GNU projects should also leave GNU</li>
            </ul>
            <h1>
            Libreboot has left the GNU project, and will probably never re-join.
            We will consider whether to re-open communications with the FSF, if
            and when the organisation resolves this blatant corruption.
            Leah Rowe demands that both FSF and GNU formally announce that
            Libreboot is no longer a GNU project, while revoking her FSF membership.
            She will no longer be donating to the FSF; Leah had donated $6120 USD
            to the organisation since 2015, before making this announcement.
            </h1>

            <h1 id="community-reaction">
                Community reaction, and our response
            </h1>
            <p>
                Women are taken far less seriously, especially trans women, 
                so it's only natural that everywhere
                all over the internet, people are demanding <em>evidence</em>, while
                others now regard Leah Rowe (the person who blew the whistle on
                the FSF's discrimination) as <em>childish</em> or <em>unprofessional</em>.
                This is highly disappointing, but it is not unexpected.
            </p>
            <p>
                The libreboot project will stand firm, regardless. This kind of
                injustice at the Free Software Foundation must never be tolerated.
                <strong>To those in the FSF who are responsible: this issue will
                not go away.</strong>
            </p>
            <div class="notice">
			<p>
                <strong><em>
                FSF, GNU and RMS: Libreboot is no longer a GNU project. Please
                honour this immediately, and formally declare that libreboot is
                no longer a GNU project. Leah is *NOT* stepping down as Libreboot's
                maintainer, she is simply taking Libreboot away from GNU. Libreboot
                will still be developed as always, under the same standards of
                freedom as before, just *without GNU*. She has not forked libreboot.
                </em></strong>
			</p>
            </div>
        <h1 id="leah-not-a-hero">Leah Rowe is not a hero, and she did a terrible thing</h1>
            <p>
                This is a personal statement from Leah Rowe.
                Leaving GNU was the correct decision. The Free Software Foundation
                really did fire a trans person for discriminatory reasons, and
                they really are guilty here. They do not deserve libreboot to be
                a member of their community, and the FSF deserves every bit of
                negative publicity and public shaming that they received. However,
                there is something that I need to publicly confess to the community,
                because my own conscience is not clean at all in any of this.
            </p>
            <p>
                I accidentally
                made several mistakes which ended up outing the trans person that
                was fired. This person was <em>stealth</em>, which meant that they
                did not want to be outed. I have potentially cost them opportunities
                for a new job, in the process of exposing what the FSF did.
            </p>
            <p>
                For this, I'm deeply sorry. I screwed up, big time, and I don't
                deserve to be praised as much as I was, even if I otherwise did the right thing
                in exposing the Free Software Foundation for their corruption
                of social justice.
            </p>
            <p>
                I lost 2 friends, when I made this announcement. And I deserved
                to lose them. One of them was the person who was fired, and the
                other was friends with both me and that person. <em>These people
                were the 2 people who I first came out as transgender to, before
                anyone else, and they helped me a lot during my early transition,
                when I was unstable.</em>
                The trans person who was fired, I had already lost as a friend,
                and was deeply upset at the time. I had started to say nasty things
                to this person, over a disagreement, which was also my fault. I
                thought that exposing the FSF for their discriminatory practises
                would redeem me and possibly make that person be my friend again.
                Basically, I was trying to be supportive, but I ended up making
                things potentially much worse for that person in the process.
                I'm not a hero at all. I apologise to all
                of those in the community who congratulated for my &quot;courage&quot; after
                the announcement, because the truth is that I'm a coward. I was
                hiding behind a wall of false heroism. I'm actually a terrible
                person, and I did something terrible.
            </p>
            <p>
                To my 2 friends (who I will not name), I apologise. You are both
                wonderful people, and I really hope you both thrive in life. You
                both deserve to be happy, and I wish you both well. I still regard
                both of you as friends, and still think fondly of both of you, even
                if I don't deserve either of you as friends.
            </p>
            <p>
                This is my only regret.
            </p>
		<h1 id="leah-is-not-an-fsf-employee">Leah Rowe does not work for the FSF, and never has</h1>
			<p>
				This is a personal statement from Leah Rowe:
				I've seen some weird posts all over reddit and elsewhere
				that showed people were looking for pictures of me, for some
				reason. Normally I wouldn't care. Reddit and 4chan are not exactly
				serious websites in my opinion. Nonetheless, it does annoy me
				a lot to see a photo of the FSF staff #1 on google image search
				when I search my name, so I would like to share with the community
				an <em><strong>actual</strong></em> photo of me:<br/>
				<img src="images/leah0.jpg" alt="" /> 
			</p>
            <p>
                <a href="../">Back to home page</a>
            </p>
	</div>

<?php
	include "../common/footer.php";
?>

</body>
</html>
<?php
	$strHtml = ob_get_clean();
	echo miniHtml($strHtml);
?>
